"Could've Been" is a song by American

teen-pop Teen pop is a sub genre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop". About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Often, the artists themselves are teenagers during their breakout. While it c ...

artist Tiffany, released as the third single from her debut album, '' Tiffany'' (1987). The track was written by Lois Blaisch and produced by

George Tobin George Tobin is a record producer who has produced albums for a long list of musical artists including Robert John, Smokey Robinson, Kim Carnes, Kicking Harold, and PC Quest. He is best known, however, for discovering, managing, and producing ...

. It was released first to North America on November 20, 1987. The song became a hit, topping the charts of the United States, Canada, and Ireland.

Background

Lois Blaisch said in an interview with

Songfacts Songfacts is a music-oriented website that features articles about songs, detailing the meaning behind the lyrics, how and when they were recorded, and any other available information. The journalists who work for the site have interviewed thou ...

that the inspiration for the song came from her oral surgeon ex-boyfriend. She describes her oral surgeon ex-boyfriend as someone that led her with lies and that she fell in love with ideas of him, not actually him.

Chart performance

After debuting at number 86 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on November 28, 1987, "Could've Been" quickly rose up the chart and spent two weeks at number one in February, becoming Tiffany's second consecutive number-one hit following "

I Think We're Alone Now "I Think We're Alone Now" is a song written and composed by Ritchie Cordell that was first recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells. It was a major hit for the group, reaching number 4 on the US Hot 100 in April 1967. It finished at No. 12 on ' ...

". She became the first female artist in the rock era to have their first two singles top the chart and the first female teen singer since

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she achieved her first ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' hit aged 12 i ...

to achieve the feat. It was also the third number one single in 15 months following

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

's "

Amanda Amanda is a Latin feminine gerundive (i.e. verbal adjective) name meaning, literally, "she who must (or is fit to) be loved". Other translations, with similar meaning, could be "deserving to be loved," "worthy of love," or "loved very much by ev ...

" and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

and

Siedah Garrett Deborah Christine "Siedah" Garrett (born June 24, 1960) is an American singer and songwriter who has written songs and performed backing vocals for many recording artists in the music industry, such as Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, Brand ...

's "

I Just Can't Stop Loving You "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a 1987 duet ballad by American singer Michael Jackson featuring singer and songwriter Siedah Garrett, and was released as the first single on July 20, 1987, by Epic Records from his seventh album, ''Bad''. The ...

" to not have a video to be promoted alongside it. She also became the first artist since 1985 to hold the top spot of the US and UK charts simultaneously with different songs; "Could've Been" was number one in the United States while "I Think We're Alone Now" was number one in the United Kingdom.

Critical reception

John Aizlewood from '' Number One'' declared the song as "mighty", noting how "she croons and how she moves the emotions like a large cheque."

Music video

Technically, "Could've Been" never had an official

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

as network executives felt like the lyrics would not sound believable coming from a then 14 year old Tiffany. However, a live music video was sent to networks which featured fans singing along to Tiffany's performance.

Track listing

* 7-inch single and cassette single #Could've Been – 4:00 #The Heart of Love – 3:57

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1980s ballads 1987 songs 1988 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles MCA Records singles Pop ballads RPM Top Singles number-one singles Tiffany Darwish songs